


Special Authorisation

by Notmarysue



Category: Hatchetfield Universe - Team StarKid
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Dreams, Dreams and Nightmares, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Military, Nightmares, No beta we die like John, PEIP - Freeform, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:55:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28510758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notmarysue/pseuds/Notmarysue
Summary: A year after the disaster at Toy Zone and the defeat of Wiggly, the fabled end of the world has proved to be very anti-climatic. Yet even with world war 3 avoided, Lex is plagued by strange dreams. She's still a Peip, after all, and she knows she can't rest until her destiny is fulfilled.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Special Authorisation

**Author's Note:**

> Nick Lang: Listen, everyone died at the end of Black Friday, okay? The bomb hit and even in defeat Wiggly got the final word.
> 
> The fandom: We choose not to hear.

Nightmares had always run in the Foster family. Lex had been having them since she was child, as had Hannah. They were sure their mother had them too, but she was quick to drink them away. For years they’d been the same, malevolent creatures, quiet schemes, a man in denim whose smile was far too familiar. There was rarely much structure to them, at least from what Lex could tell, but she recognised their parts every time.

Since Black Friday, however, things had been different. Lex had been having new dreams. Dreams of a portal, a base, a military unit. At first, she thought it was meaningless, with the events of Toy Zone disaster and her supernatural encounter still weighing on her mind. It wasn’t everyday a ghost saved her from a cult, after all. Yet nearly a year later, the dreams continued, and, despite all her newfound family’s assurances, she was sure it wasn’t just natural stress. They weren’t just normal nightmares. They weren’t nightmares at all. They were a message. A mission statement. Lex was Peip, she had been told as much, and even in death John wasn’t going to let her forget.

The world had not ultimately ended. Lex wasn’t exactly sure how world war 3 had narrowly been avoided and likely never would, but she didn’t really care. Life was full of near misses of all kinds. The nature of the miss didn’t matter. All that mattered was that nothing hit. So, after months of living in Professor Higden’s home, with her ex-woodwork teacher enforcing a shelter in place policy ‘just in case’, she left Hannah in the Houston’s care and started her journey, determined to find her destine unit.

Lex had never been given any specific directions. Not by John in their brief interaction, not in her dreams. Yet her every movement felt natural. It was as if something was pulling her forward as she drove Ethan’s old car from her shaken little town to the unchanged landscape of Washington. For weeks she searched the hapless crowds for clues, mostly stumbling on scams, conspiracy theories, and tales spun straight out of drug trips, until she was eventually pointed in the direction of P.E.I.P’s latest field operation.

The mission base was set up seemingly miles away from any sort of life, at the edge of a town that appeared completely abandoned. There were still parked cars and streetlights, but the houses were empty, and the air was still. After walking through the quiet streets, Lex found a tall chain link, guarded by a young woman. At first glance, Lex could have sworn the woman looked like one of her hometown cops, but she shook it of as nothing more than a coincidence.

“Halt.” The woman ordered as Lex approached, pointing her gun towards her. Lex stopped her tracks a few feet away, suspecting that the guard wasn’t bluffing with the weapon.

“I’d like to speak to someone in charge.” Lex replied firmly.

“You shouldn’t be here. You should have been evacuated yesterday.”

“Why? Something up?” Lex shrugged casually.

“That’s not important. We’re handling it. Go back to your home and we’ll send for you.” The woman ordered.

“Oh, I don’t live here. John sent me.”

“John?” The guard lowered her gun and raised her eyebrow.

“General McNamara.” Lex clarified.

“I don’t be ridiculous. General McNamara is dead.”

“So, you _are_ the people I’m looking for?” She asked.

“That’s not what I said. Now beat it.” The guard snapped.

“I _need_ to speak to someone in charge.” Lex scowled.

“I’m going to count to three.” The guard raised the gun once more, training her sights on Lex. “One…”

“Woah, hey, that’s really unnecessary.” Lex raised her hands and started to slowly back away.

“Two…”

“Just listen I-“

“Thr-“

“What the Hell is going on here?” A new voice interrupted. Lex looked up to see a slander man in a long coat emerge from behind the chain link fence. He positioned himself next to the guard, who had not lowered her gun but had luckily stopped her countdown, at least for the time being.

“Your bloody guard is trying to shoot me.” Lex exclaimed, keeping her hands firmly in the air.

“That’s a little dramatic. I think I would have heard if a bullet had been fired. Private Jones what did I tell you about showing this town’s residents some respect?”

“Sorry, Doctor Lee, but this woman isn’t a resident. She wants to speak to someone in charge.” The guard explained as she finally lowered her weapon.

“Lee…” Lex muttered, searching her mind. “You’re Xander right? I’ve heard your name before, in my dreams, you’re the one I’m supposed to find.”

“Excuse me?” Xander laughed, taken off guard by sure a bizarre yet confident statement.

“You’re in charge, right?” Lex asked enthusiastically. She put down her hands, knowing that Xander wouldn’t allow her to be fired upon. She may have never met him in person, but in all her dreams she trusted him. “John said you’d be in charge.”

“John…how did you…” His voice trailed off as he fought back a twinge of sadness. He straightened his back, forcing himself to look professional as he looked Lex in the eye. “Yes, I’m in charge, at least for the time being. Now, what’s it going to take for you to leave and not tell anyone about this?”

“Oh, I’m not leaving. I’m here to join you.”

“Join us?”

“That’s what I said.” Lex nodded.

“Listen, we’re not the type of place that takes applications. This isn’t your average after school retail job.”

“Trust me, I know. I’ve worked retail. Most of you couldn’t handle it.”

“Touché.” Xander smirked.

“Look, I know you’re apprehensive. You guys are supposed to be all secret and elite, though if I’m honest with you’re kind of bad at it. My point is I understand that you can’t just let anyone off the street join up, but I’m not anyone. I can make a difference here. I’m…I’m meant to be here.” Lex explained.

Xander frowned and crossed his arms. Lex and the guard watched him, both equally eager to hear his response.

“You know, it takes guts to come here. It takes more guts to insult this organisation to my face. So, I’m going to give you a chance. Give me one good reason why you belong with us.”

Lex froze, struggling to think of an answer. She’d never thought this far ahead before. Only one reply kept circling in her mind. A simple phrase which had saved her life and opened her eyes to so much. It sounded crazy, she knew it did, but it was the only right answer. She took a breath, stood tall, and looked Xander directly in the eye.

“I’m authorised to use John’s firearm.” She replied. Xander paused, wide eyed, before starting to laugh. For a second Lex’s heart sunk. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe this wasn’t how it was meant to be after all.

“That son of a bitch. Still interfering.” Xander smiled. “Alright, let her in.” He nodded towards the guard.

“But Doctor Lee-“ The guard protested.

“No buts, Private, this woman is a Peip. Come on, we’ve got work to do.” Xander waved Lex over. She smiled and jobbed through the entrance into the mission site, sure for the first time that her life was just beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> First fic of 2021 woohoo. I planned for it to be a very angsty SAF one shot but then I thought we should start off with something a little more positive, so I moved this up in my writing schedule. Angst is almost definitely on the way though. In fact, it's probably going to be the next upload. Not sure when that'll be. Stay tuned.


End file.
